NetFires LLC Conducts Successful Warhead Demonstration for Precision Attack Missile

Released on Thursday, June 28, 2007

 

TUCSON, Ariz., June 28, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- NetFires LLC, a joint

venture between Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Missile Systems business and

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Missiles and Fire Control, successfully

demonstrated the ability of its Precision Attack Missile warhead to

penetrate a fortified bunker target, a key program requirement.

The Precision Attack Missile is part of the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch

System currently under development for the U.S. Army's Future Combat System

and the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ships.

The testing was performed at the Redstone Arsenal Technical Test

Center, Huntsville, Ala., against an earth and timber bunker target. The

missile simulation test verified that the Precision Attack Missile warhead

will detonate upon impact and perforate the bunker wall structure as

required. All primary and secondary test objectives were met during the

test. This successful "Dynamic Bunker" test provides data to support

follow-on Army and Navy warhead testing.

"This represents a continual step forward in delivering precision fires

with maximum lethality to the Army and Navy combat forces," said Col. Doug

Dever, U.S. Army's Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System project manager.

The multi-target warhead and fuze, developed by General Dynamics

Ordnance and Tactical Systems, applies cutting-edge technology to provide

diverse mission, multi-target capability for the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch

System. It possesses both a shaped-charge capability, to defeat armored

targets, and a blast fragmentation capability for use against buildings,

bunkers, small boats, lightly armored vehicles and other soft targets.

To deliver the multipurpose warhead for precision-strike targeting, the

Precision Attack Missile is equipped with a dual mode seeker (imaging

infrared and semi-active laser), as well as GPS and inertial guidance.

The Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System is one of the 14 Future Combat

System's core systems. It will operate as a part of the Future Combat

System systems-of-systems to meet the requirements of the Army's future

brigade combat teams and provide increased capability for the current

force's modular brigade combat teams. It is also one of the key littoral

combat ship mission modules. Compared to systems with equivalent firepower

(kills per combat load), the Non Line of-Sight-Launch System provides a

modular, highly deployable and flexible precision fires capability to the

U.S. Army, Navy and joint maneuver forces for a very low life-cycle system

cost.

 

Source: NetFires LLC Conducts Successful Warhead Demonstration for Precision Attack Missile